This invention relates to a device useful in assisting to make a ring binder more efficient to use, and more particularly a device capable of making the opening side of the binder substantially equal to the spine side of the ring binder.
Ring binders are in great use in various fields of endeavor. Students use them at all levels of education. Businesses use them to store information, and provide for readily changeable information. Other educational sources use them to provide books or other materials, which can be easily updated by merely changing the loose leaf sheets within the ring binder. Such ring binders have long been known in the art and have a wide variety of uses.
In spite of the long period of use of ring binders, some major problems still remain with the use of a ring binder. These problems greatly reduce the advantages of a ring binder. It is, of course, desirable to maintain the advantages of a ring binder while solving some of these problems.
One problem occurs because it is extremely difficult to properly stack or store a ring binder with other ring binders. The crux of this problem relates to the wedge shape of a ring binder, which interferes with the stacking or storing of a ring binder. A standard ring binder has a structure, which leads from a spine side to an opening side. The opening side is generally of less thickness than the spine side, which leads to a wedge shape. However, this problem is inherent in the nature of a ring binder.
Another problem occurs because the binder is designed to contain material. If the material is in the binder, the open side is not necessarily of equal thickness with the spine side. Furthermore, since the open side leaves the binder cover free to move relative to the other side of the binder cover, the binder may be opened at undesirable times. If a device could be found to equalize the width of the binder at the open side and at the spine side, great improvements in the use of a ring binder can result.
Furthermore, a frequent user of notebooks to carry material can, to great dismay, find that upon stuffing a three-ring binder or other binder into a briefcase or similar carrying device, another item within the briefcase has entered the binder and caused damage to the material therein. If the material is so damaged, it becomes unsightly and therefore unsuitable for the person to use in--for example--a sales presentation.
An even greater advantage is achieved if a device to achieve the desirable results can be simply manufactured. As the process for manufacture is simplified, production costs are reduced.
Thus, it becomes clear that it is highly desirable to have a device which improves the utility of the already versatile ring binder.